P&F Industries 2: El Camino de calle traviesa: Walk across the street
by EDD17SP
Summary: Having watched Phineas and Isabella's falling out, Candace is on a mission to save their friendship. After being hired, Buford starts helping Steve with the restoration of the 1971 Buick Riviera. Perry eavesdrops. Picks up where "P&F #1: The Mustang" left off. Only the title is Spanish, the story is English.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Phineas and Ferb or any of the songs used. Do not attempt any of the driving described here at home. There is no guarantee it will work the way I wrote it and you'll probably get arrested.**

**If you have not read "P&F Industries #1: The Mustang," this story will make no sense.**

Chapter 1

The last rays of sunlight faded from the cloudless sky as the black-and-yellow 1970 Ford Mustang drifted into the front drive of Steve's Garage, rocking a bit on the recently replaced shocks as it stopped. The sign on the building still bore the name of Steve's uncle: "Boyd's Garage."

Steve reached up and pressed the button on garage door opener hanging from the visor above his head. The furthest away of the three overhead garage doors slid open and he drove the Mustang smoothly into the open bay.

"Here we are," Steve announced, tilting the driver's seat forward so Baljeet could climb out of the back.

Phineas, Ferb, and all of their friends had seen Steve's garage at some point over the past two weeks. The main garage had three oversize overhead doors, but was completely open on the inside. In the center, aligned with the center door, was a hydraulic lift. The far end of the garage extended another twenty feet past the last overhead door. Here, large machinery like the English wheel for rolling sheet metal into car body parts, was housed. The opposite end of the garage contained hanging tool boards over small bench tops, which held a myriad of neatly organized wrenches, sockets, screwdrivers and various air tools. A sound system sat in the corner of the last bench, which was wired to speakers placed strategically around the shop.

The back wall was decorated top to bottom with signs and posters, old and new, advertising motor oil, car makes and models, and car parts and tires, as well as NASCAR memorabilia, all surrounding a giant neon Ford emblem centered on the flat wall.

Buford vacated the passenger side of the car and closed the door behind him. There was a new addition to the interior of the garage since he had been here last. Perched securely on the car lift was a 1971 Buick Riviera that had seen better days.

"That's it, huh?" Buford asked. "Doesn't look too bad," he observed.

Buford had been hired not five minutes ago to help Steve in his garage. The "Riv" on the lift was to be their first project car.

"You're right, it's really not," Steve agreed.

The three young men walked over to the lift, which had been locked at only about a quarter of its capable height so that the car was at about eye level. The tires had been taken off, but otherwise the car was exactly the same as when Steve had brought it in four days ago.

"This car is cool?" Baljeet asked, skepticism in his voice.

"Yes!" Steve and Buford chorused.

"I mean, just look at how the nose slants backward on the bottom," Steve said, "Name another car that looks like this!"

"And check out the 'boat-tail' rear end with the ventilation louvers!" Buford added.

Steve decided to see just how far Buford's automotive knowledge went. "Prove yourself worthy of working in my garage," he challenged. "What are the specs on the engine?"

Buford thought for just a moment. "Its a 455-cubic inch V-8 plant, four barrel carburetor, around 315 horsepower, fastest ever clocked was only about 125 miles per hour."

Steve gave a half grin. "Impressive. Very impressive."

Baljeet sighed and sat down on one of the tires off of the Buick. He had had to put up with Buford rattling off car facts that he really didn't car about since high school starts three years ago, and since Steve had started hanging out with them at Phineas and Ferb's, the two of them had been talking cars nearly non-stop. While it was great that Buford finally had a friend that appreciated his automotive knowledge, Baljeet missed the old days, when the majority of Buford's time was devoted to bullying him.

"Does this one have the limited slip differential on it?" Buford asked. "I know that wasn't a standard feature."

"It doesn't now, but that's one of the things I want to improve upon before we sell it."

"Sweet!"

_Why did I ask to come along?_ Baljeet wondered.

* * *

"Move it, Ferb, hurry, hurry, hurry!"

"Oh, there you are, Perry."

"Grab the platypus and walk faster!" Candace whispered to her brother, her hand still on his shoulder, steering him behind the garage.

"Now, shh, I want to hear this," the twenty-one year old snapped, just before Isabella's distressed voice floated to them from across the front yard.

"That isn't what I meant Phineas. I was talking about-"

Phineas said something that the two siblings and their platypus behind the garage couldn't hear. "What did he say?" Candace whispered.

"Then why did you-"

"Why did I pretend _not _to know what you meant? Because…" Phineas paused. "Because…because I…" Candace strained her ears to hear what he was saying. "Just…don't…know."

_Phineas!_ Candace screamed inside her head. _No, no, no! Don't say that!"_

"You just said you did know."

"No, I mean I don't know…I don't know how I feel. I've been trying not to think about it. I've been hoping that maybe you'd forget that you let it slip out, and that things could just go back to the way they were before."

_Phineas, you're killing it! _Candace watched Isabella turn around, no longer facing Phineas. Her body convulsed slightly, telling Candace that she was sobbing.

"Please, don't cry Isabella." Phineas was speaking so quietly Candace could barely hear him. Perry, held tightly in Ferb's arms, let his mindless façade slip as he, too, strained to hear what Phineas and Isabella were saying. "You know I would never do anything to hurt you. You're my best friend, and I love you, but just not quite the same way."

_Shut up Phineas! _It was taking all of Candace's self control to keep from screaming across the front yard to her brother. _You're making it worse! Stop now while you still have a chance at fixing this! Oh no, he's gonna keep going!_

"I don't know how I feel. I don't know how I'm supposed to feel. The more I think about it, the more I feel stupid for not realizing it without you telling me…the more I feel bad for not talking to you about it sooner…the more I feel like I _should…_" He swallowed."…Love you back. But…I'm just not sure."

_Oh, Jeez, Phineas, please stop._

"Please stop crying, Isabella," Candace heard Phineas say again. _Good, don't add anything else._ She watched as Isabella pushed Phineas's attempt at a hug away. _Uh-oh. That's not a good sign._

"Goodbye, Phineas," Isabella whispered, as she turned and took a few steps into the street.

"Goodbye, Isabella," Phineas returned quietly.

Candace, Ferb, and Perry watched as Isabella crossed Maple Drive to her house as the sun vanished below the horizon. When all sunlight had died out, Candace returned her grip to Ferb's shoulder, much tighter this time, and shoved him through the gate into the backyard, and did not release her grip until they retreated behind the large poplar tree.

"What the heck was that?" Candace asked Ferb in a loud whisper. "That didn't seem like Phineas at all!

Ferb shrugged, which is hard to do when you're holding a platypus.

"I can't believe Phineas just said that!" Candace continued. "What do you mean, 'I don't know how I'm supposed to feel?' And then to say, 'I love you, but only as a friend,' with out returning her feelings! He just tore Isabella's heart out!"

As usual, Ferb remained silent, but his eyes turned down.

"I mean, years ago, I thought Phineas would fall for Isabella eventually, or at the very least, pick up on her feelings without her telling him. But…this just completely ruined my faith in the world! After all the crazy unpredictable stuff that has happened at this address over the years, this is the one thing that I thought was a foregone conclusion! That Phineas and Isabella would end up together."

Ferb still said nothing.

"And now," Candace continued, a sad, disappointed tone overtaking her angry one, "Now their friendship might have just ended."

There was silence as Candace leaned back against the tree and sighed, eyes downcast. Ferb eventually sat down, his back against the tree. He hugged Perry tighter, as tears of his own began to well up in his eyes. He didn't want to lose Isabella as a friend any more than Phineas or Candace. The silence lasted at least a minute and a half before Candace finally spoke up.

"Well, we can't just sit here!" Candace yelled, or at least her facial expression was that of yelling. She was still talking in a loud whisper. "Isabella is our friend, too, and we need to fix this."

"Agreed," Ferb finally responded. "But you have to do all the talking."

"Also agreed," Candace said. "It's been a while since I had a real sister-to-brother one-on-one conversation with Phineas. Maybe I can get him to open up to me. We'll wait at least until tomorrow, maybe the next day, to talk to Isabella."

Candace helped Ferb to his feet and they walked to the gate together.

"Wish me luck," Candace said as she left Ferb standing at the gate and began to walk down the driveway toward Phineas. As she did, Perry struggled against Ferb's grip, signifying he wanted to get down.

As Candace slowly advanced toward her brother, she was unaware that she was being followed by a very curious platypus that very much wanted to know how this was going to turn out.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"So the here's what I want to do," Steve said. "There's only a little rust around the bottom of the body work, but the chassis is rusted out pretty badly, so everything that isn't permanently attached to the underside, I want to take off, sand it all down, paint the chassis, replace the parts that need to be replaced, including adding a limited slip differential. We're gonna take out the engine. There's a guy across town I found who can rebuild it for us, which will make our job a lot easier."

Buford listened with rapt attention as Steve explained his plans for the restoration. Baljeet sat on the tire and played with his cell phone, not particularly caring. He had decided that the only reason he had wanted to come was because this is where Buford was going. Now, he had a feeling that, since his car wasn't there and he was too tired to walk, it was going to be a while before he got home.

"We'll rebuild the transmission ourselves," Steve continued.

"Doesn't this thing have a dopey three-speed?" Buford asked.

"That it does."

"Can we put a new five-speed in it?"

Steve pondered this. "I think I want to keep it as close to original as possible, so, we'll just stick with rebuilding the existing transmission."

"Well, can we at least get a little more power out of the engine with a superflow exhaust?"

Steve grinned. "I like the way you think, Buford." At this Buford returned the smile, proud of himself. Baljeet happened to glance up and took note of this.

"Then I guess the only other thing is to fix the rust around the bottom of the bottom, refinish the chrome, and paint and clear coat the body," Steve finished. "I figure we can do the whole restoration for about five…maybe fifty-five hundred, and sell for maybe ten or eleven thousand. This car isn't really rare or highly sought after, so that's about all we're gonna get out of it."

"Speaking of money," Buford said, "What are you gonna to pay me?"

"Well, I suppose I'll give you a certain percentage of the sale from every car we finish," Steve decided. "Just how much that percentage will be, I'll decide after I see just how good your work is."

"Sounds fair." Buford was quite excited to start. He was ready to grab a wrench and start taking off rusty parts. Steve, however, was ready for bed.

Steve looked at the large analog Valvoline clock on the wall. It was 9:15pm.

"Well, I guess I'd better take you guys home," Steve said, punctuating his sentence with a yawn.

"Aw, man," Buford muttered. Baljeet sprung up, more than ready to get going.

They all reclaimed their seats in the Mustang and Steve set a course for the Tjinder residence.

* * *

Phineas had stood in the exact same spot for the last fifteen minutes. The street lights had blinked on (a bit late, but Phineas didn't notice) creating just enough illumination for Phineas to see Isabella's house. He had not averted his gaze from the direction his friend (or former friend) had walked, even though there was no longer anything of interest to look at.

To Candace, it looked like he was staring at the shrubbery in the Garcia-Shapiros' front yard. She walked up next to her brother on the sidewalk and stood there silently for a few moments. Tears still streamed down Phineas's face and the collar of his orange-and-white stripped t-shirt was soaked from where the droplets had landed. He was not sobbing, so, though the tears continued, it was completely and somewhat eerily silent.

"Phineas?" Candace finally said, with concern in her voice. "Are you okay?"

Phineas did not respond. He simply stood there, his eyes still directed at the last place he had seen Isabella. Normally, thoughts flew through his head at light speed. Now, however, his mind was completely blank.

"Phineas?" Candace repeated. She didn't have a chance to say any more than that as her brother quickly turned and embraced her, burying his head under Candace's arm. As Candace returned the hug, she could feel Phineas start to convulse as he began to sob, his breath catching in his throat before forcing its way out of his windpipe. They stood like this for a long time.

Finally, Candace pulled back, keeping one arm around her brother and guided him gently toward the house.

Perry watched as Candace tried to comfort her brother from the edge of the front lawn just behind them, flattening himself in the grass. Trying to be as stealthy as possible, watching the tearful exchange before him. He felt terrible and wished there was something he could do to help, but that of course would require blowing his cover, and having to leave forever would not be very comforting at all.

As Candace and Phineas started toward the house, Perry was struck with a thought. Maybe he didn't have to blow his cover to help Phineas feel better.

Candace guided Phineas into one of the chairs around the kitchen table. He sat in the chair, his head still hanging with despair, tears running down his face and dripping onto the hardwood table.

She said not a word, fetching a glass from the cabinet and filling it with ice and water. Most people would find comfort in a hot drink when upset, but Candace found that ice water was best for clearing out a tear choked throat.

She offered the water to Phineas, who seemed to be hanging his head even lower than before. She noticed his shoulder moving slightly, and leaned forward to see what he was doing.

Perry sat on Phineas's lap. The boy was gently petting the fur on Perry's back, his tears now falling on the platypus. But, Perry was doing his job, giving Phineas some security.

"Phineas," Candace whispered. He glanced up and hesitantly accepted the glass, but drank eagerly once he finally raised it to his lips. When he had drained the water, save for the ice, he hugged Perry to his chest, squeezing as tightly as he dared without hurting his pet.

Perry gasped for air, but didn't struggle.

Candace sat down in the chair next to him, finally getting a good look at Phineas's face in the light. His eyes were puffy and red, his face glistened from the tears, and his shirt collar was soaked. She had never once seen him manifested in such a way.

Trying not to sound demanding, Candace said, "Tell me what happened," even though she knew exactly what had occurred.

"Isabella *sob* hates me," Phineas managed to choke out.

"Isabella does not hate you," Candace assured him.

"She does!" Phineas said, a bit of anger rising in his voice. He accidentally squeezed Perry harder, who's eyes bulged out until Phineas relaxed his choke hold. "She *sob* told me *sob* she's *sob* in *sob* love *sob* with *sob* me! And I *sob* didn't know *sob* how to *sob* respond to that! *sob* I said 'I *sob* don't know,' and *sob* she started *sob* crying. And now- *sob*" Phineas choked on every word, finally stopping when Candace put her hand on his shoulder.

"Calm down, Phineas," she said. "Take a few deep breaths." As he did, Candace refilled his water glass. He quickly drained it again, and his sobbing became less frequent. His tear ducts reached the point where there just was no more moisture to expel.

"Okay," Candace said calmly, trying to make Phineas feel comfortable speaking to her. "Start at the beginning."

Phineas took one last deep breath and recanted the two-week old story that Candace had already heard from Isabella the day it happened. He told of how he, Ferb and Isabella went for a ride with Steve in his Mustang, how Steve wanted to jump the creek, how Isabella didn't trust Steve's judgment, and how, when he said he trusted Steve because he was good at reading people, she questioned this rather angrily, claiming that he hadn't noticed she loved him for ten years.

Candace listened intently, trying to find some discrepancy between the story Phineas told her and Isabella's version, but she could find none.

Finally, Phineas recounted, almost word-for-word, his discussion with Isabella on the sidewalk in front of the house. When he finished, tears began slipping down his face again.

"I feel like an idiot," Phineas said. "She's been in love with me for ten years. _Ten years!_ And yet, after all the time I spent with her, all the adventures we went on, I didn't notice. I never once picked up her hints. Heck, she almost died of typhoid when Ferb and I took everyone looking for something that doesn't exist in the Amazon rainforest two years ago."

"Wait, what?" Candace interjected with surprise, but Phineas ignored her and continued.

"What if she had died and I never found out she's in love with me? And now, after all these years we've been friends, I don't know anything about it until she accidentally lets it slip out! What kind of friend am I that I didn't pay enough attention to her to figure it out? I mean, looking back on it now, thinking about all our endeavors, most of them right here in the backyard…" he glanced out the sliding glass door into the backyard, almost catching Ferb eavesdropping by pressing his ear to a glass on the door, but Ferb moved with superhuman speed out of his brother's line of sight. "…I can think of dozens of times when she hinted at her feelings and I didn't notice."

He paused. Candace opened her mouth to say something, thinking her brother was done, but Phineas continued. "And now…now that I know…I feel like I _should_ love her back. I almost feel like its weird that I don't. But, I never thought about Isabella as anything but a friend - I never consider anyone anything but a friend - but…I think it should be different with her. But…I don't want to say I don't love her. Because I do! I feel like she's a part of the family, I've always felt the same way about her as I do about you," he said, pointing to Candace. There was another short pause. "But…do I love her…the way you love Jeremy? The way Dad loves Mom? The way Feb loves that girl Vanessa?"

Outside, Ferb's eye grew wide and he pulled back from the wall, nearly dropping his glass. How did Phineas know that? He had certainly never told him.

Phineas punctuated his last thought with another sigh. The tears had stopped again and he was breathing easier. He picked up the glass from the table and managed to get one half-sip of water from the ice that had been melting as he told his story. He released Perry, whom he had been hugging tightly the whole time.

Perry sank down on Phineas's lap, thankful to be free of the crushing grip. The fur on top of his head was drenched with salty tears. He felt a little like crying himself. He loved his owners even though he couldn't really express it, and he hated seeing Phineas this way. He tried desperately to think of a way to help his friends, but sadly, he could do nothing.

When Candace was sure Phineas was done venting, she finally spoke up. "Phineas, I'm sure Isabella doesn't hate you. How could she? You're her best friend. She's just disappointed that you don't return her feelings."

"I never said I don't love her back. I'm just…unsure."

"Well, you're first mistake was telling her you do love her, but not the same way," Candace said, her voice growing almost a little sarcastic, but quickly returning to normal with her next sentence. "I can't tell you how to feel, Phineas," she said, putting a comforting arm around his shoulder. "You have to figure that out on your own. But I don't think you handled the situation in the best way possible, especially by not bringing it up. Why don't you give it a day or so and go talk to Isabella?" _But not before I do._

"I don't know, Candace," Phineas said, looking down at Perry and pulling him back into another hug, trying to draw strength from the platypus.

"Just think about it," she said. "Now, come on," she said, rising from her chair, "Why don't we find Ferb and play cards for a while?"

"Actually, I think I need some time alone. You know, to think," he said, heading out of the kitchen towards the living room. "I think I'm just going to bed."

"Okay," Candace said, slowly following her brother until she reached the doorway that lead to the living room, where she stopped and leaned against wall. Phineas was heading for the stairs, carrying Perry in his arms.

"Goodnight, Candace."

"Goodnight, Phineas."

A sad expression plastered Candace's face as she watched Phineas head up the stairs. Halfway up, he stopped.

"Candace?" he said.

"Yes?" she replied trying to fix a smile on her face.

"Thank you."

The fake smile became real. "You're welcome, Phineas."

As Phineas reached the top of the stairs, the smile disappeared again from Candace's face. She had to fix this. She just had to.

She turned around to find Ferb standing in the kitchen. There were no words exchanged between them. Candace shook her head and Ferb understood. Ferb held up his open hand, and Candace understood.

And then, they both headed for their bedrooms.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

A cloud of reddish-brown dust filled the garage, the air-cleaner doing its best to keep up.

The clock on the wall read 1:16pm. Steve and Buford had been hard at work on the Buick Riviera since Buford arrived at 8:30am, and they had already made more progress then they had expected to.

They started with the engine, lifting it out and putting it right in the bed of Steve's Ford F-150 pickup. The radiator and master cylinder for the brakes came out, too. Then they lifted the car and started removing everything that wasn't welded on, starting with the drive shaft, and then the brakes, transmission (which was currently sitting on a bench, awaiting rebuild), exhaust, steering mechanics, wheel assemblies and even the fuel tank. Useless parts went in the dumpster out back.

"Let the sanding begin!" Steve had announced.

And that was where they were now. Both wearing safety goggles and dust masks, they sanded everywhere there was rust, which was pretty much everywhere. Fortunately, while the car was "rusty," it wasn't "rusted out," so a coat of black Rustoleum paint would take care of the chassis, and later the engine compartment.

They dropped off the engine to be rebuilt at Tri-State Automotive Group when they took a break for lunch.

As they returned to the shop, Steve drove past Phineas and Ferb's house to see what unrealistically incredible contraption had been built today, but found no invention, no crowd of people, and not even any of their other friends.

"Boy, that's weird," Buford said.

"Yeah, I wonder what's up?" Steve replied, slowing in front of the house.

He drove very slowly and the two men craned their necks, trying to see if there was anything going on at the house where anything and everything happened, or even to see if anyone was home.

"Huh," Steve mused.

"Maybe they went boating today," Buford offered, "but they always tell us when they aren't gonna be home."

Just as Steve was about to drive away, they saw the front door open and Candace exit the house.

"Hey, look, there's Candace!" Buford said. "Hey, Candace!" he yelled through the open passenger window. Steve pulled over to the curb and braked to a stop.

Candace walked over the truck. She didn't look very happy.

"What's up guys? How's the River, or whatever kind of car it is you're restoring, coming along?"

"We're already making good progress and its only the first day," Steve replied, and then quickly added, "You don't look very happy, what's wrong?"

Candace sighed. "It's a long story. I'll tell you later, I don't want to keep you guys from work."

"Okay," Steve said.

"See you later guys," Candace said.

"Bye, Candace," the two mechanics called, and with that, they left.

"Say…" Buford said, an idea striking him. "When we're done with the Riviera, do you think we could do a quick restoration on a car for me? I drive a Chevy Cavalier my mom bought for me when I got my license, but its kinda lame. I need something with a little more muscle!"

"Sure," Steve said. "Can you afford it though?"

"Don't you worry about that. I have plenty of money that even my mom doesn't know about."

Steve gave Buford a concerned look. "What does that mean?"

"Can you keep a secret, Steve?" Buford asked.

"What did you do, rob a bank?"

"No! What do you take me for? I'm a bully, not a felon!"

"Okay, fine I can keep a secret."

"Over the years, Phineas and Ferb have never charged anything for people to ride their rides or attract their attractions. But, that doesn't mean I didn't! Every time they did something half the town showed up for, I collected admission. Over six years, I've saved up enough to nearly retire!"

"Then why do you need a job?" Steve asked.

"Weren't you listening? I said I could _almost _retire. If I make enough money now, I could be set for life by the time I turn twenty-five! Plus, I always wanted to work on classic cars. Well, at least since freshman year."

Steve wasn't really sure how to respond to that, so he said "Oookaaayyy," and turned the radio up louder.

As Steve's old truck rolled away, Candace walked across the street to Isabella's house. She could only imagine how Isabella must have felt as she did the same thing last night. After pretty much ending a friendship with your crush, walking across the street in the dark must have felt like crossing a continent on foot.

Candace was unaware that she had two shadows. The first was a dark spot on the ground caused by her body blocking the sun. The second had a shadow of its own and was, in fact, not a shadow at all.

Perry had not received a call to action from Major Monogram that morning, which he found strange but decided not to question it and instead use the opportunity to eavesdrop on the other side of the Phineas/Isabella dilemma.

Still in the back of his mind, he couldn't help but wonder why he hadn't been called in today.

* * *

_Meanwhile…_

"I swear, officer, I had the green light!"

"You mean you had the green arrow and jumped the gun."

_Of all the cars on the streets of Danville, I had to get hit by one being driven by Heinz Doofenshmirtz,_ Major Monogram thought to himself.

"I did so have a green light!" Doofenshmirtz protested.

"Your windshield isn't tinted, you know," Monogram said. "I could see you, clear as day, texting, and you looked up, saw the green arrow, thought the light was green and drove straight into my Cadillac _as you continued texting!"_

The police officer gave Doofenshmirtz an unimpressed look.

"Officer, I would never text while driving!" Doof said, raising his right hand. "I swear, I was not on my cell phone! Major Monogram is the one who hit me!"

"Oh, really?" Monogram returned. "How exactly did I hit you when I had the right-of-way?"

"Fine, we both hit each other equally!"

"But it was still your fault. You ran a red light!"

The police officer sighed. He did not get paid enough to do this job.

* * *

_Back on Maple Drive…_

Candace knocked on the door of the Garcia-Shapiro residence while Perry crawled behind a bush and then climbed the back of the shrub until he could see through the window. Vivian Garcia-Shapiro opened the door.

"Candace, hello! How nice to see you!" Vivian said.

"Hi, Mrs. Garcia-Shapiro. Is Isabella here?"

"Si, si, but she hasn't come out of her bedroom since she went in last night. Its very unlike her."

"Actually, that's why I'm here," Candace said, concern in her voice. "I was sort of hoping I'd be able to talk to her."

"Well, you're welcome to try," Vivian told her, standing aside to let Candace in and then closing the front door behind her.

A few more words were exchanged between the two which Perry could not hear through the window, and then Candace began to climb the stairs to the second floor. Perry pulled himself up onto the windowsill, jumped outwards and grabbed the edge of the awning hanging down above the window. He pulled himself up on top of the canvas and jumped, bouncing a few times and increasing his momentum until he finally bounced high enough to grab the bottom of the second floor window sill. He pulled himself up once again, but this window only looked into the upstairs hallway. Perry could, however, see Candace as she reached the top of the stairs. He watched Candace knock on a door to a room on the back of the house.

Perry sighed, and began jumping from windowsill to window sill until he reached the corner, where he realized he couldn't jump around a corner with nothing to grab on to, so jumped up and climbed on top of an awning and repeated his trampoline trick. Eventually, he was able to do a tuck and roll jump, landing on the roof.

By the time he climbed over the roof peak and reached the other side of the house, Candace had been granted access to Isabella's room. Perry jumped down onto the awning above Isabella's window and crawled down it on his stomach. Steadying himself by grabbing onto the edge of the awning with his front paws, he leaned over the side and looked upside down through Isabella's, thankfully, open window. Hoping the conversation wasn't going to be too long as all the blood rushed to his head, Perry listened.

* * *

Candace listened for acknowledgement as she knocked on Isabella's bedroom door.

"Go away, Mom," came a muffled response.

"I'm flattered that you think of me as family, but I'm not old enough to be your mother," Candace replied.

There was no reply.

"Isabella?"

After another few seconds, Candace finally heard a dejected, "Come in."

Candace opened the door and found Isabella lying on her bed. She was dressed in a men's t-shirt that way too big for her and a pair of cotton shorts, which Candace assumed Isabella used in place of pajamas. The small trash can next to Isabella's bed was filled to the brim with tissues, and there were many more crumpled tissues scattered on the floor.

Isabella lay on her back, her hands behind her head, staring up at the ceiling. She had long since exhausted her tear ducts and stopped crying, but she still had a very morbid, depressed look about her. The skin around her eyes was red from crying, as was her nose, but her eyes also looked slightly bloodshot, as if she had been awake all night.

Candace closed the door behind her and rolled Isabella's computer chair over next to the bed, which she sat on backwards so she could lean forward against the headrest. Before she could speak, Isabella did.

"Candace, what would you do…?" she paused. "What would you do if, when you were trying to get Jeremy to be your boyfriend, the first time you asked him out, the first time you showed any interest in him, you found out he didn't love you?"

Candace didn't respond right away, partly because the question took her by surprise, partly because the question was worded rather confusingly.

"I…I don't really know," was all she could say.

Isabella did not look at Candace, she just stared at the archaic popcorn ceiling six feet above her head.

"Why not?" Isabella asked.

"Because it never actually happened, I guess." _Okay, not really the direction I wanted to take, but at least she's talking to me._

"Exactly," Isabella continued. "Did you ever think about what would have happened if he did? Not love you back, I mean."

"Uh, yeah. Seven years ago, you know how I was," Candace began. "I was insane! Overly dramatic about everything. I used to imagine the Earth blowing up. Remember? I think I told you about it when I went into space with Phineas and Ferb."

"Uh-huh. I remember." Isabella paused a half-second. "But, unlike you, I'm not crazy."

"Hey!" Candace said, without really getting mad.

"Sorry, I'm not crazy like you _used_ to be," Isabella said, throwing up her hands in disgust. "Anyway, I never once imagined Phineas not liking me back. I mean, I didn't just expect to say 'I love you, Phineas,' and for him to immediately say 'I love you too, Izzy.' But, I thought that at least he would ask me out at some point, or agree if I asked him out, even if I didn't give him the whole picture."

"So why didn't you ask him out before?" Candace asked, trying to draw a bead on what she should focus the conversation on.

For the first time since Candace had entered her bedroom, Isabella tilted her head just far enough to the side and looked her friend in the eye as she answered.

"I…I don't know."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"Well that can't be good."

"What's up?" Buford asked, pulling his head down from the engine compartment. He was standing on an upside-down bucket to stick his head up inside the car, which was still on the lift.

"I just reached up and pulled on these wires a little to see what kind of condition they're in," Steve said, emphasizing his words in a way suggesting that he was not done with the thought, but was waiting until Buford acknowledged to continue speaking.

"Yeah?"

"They snapped right off in my hand," Steve said with a bit of disgust in his tone, and held up a few strands of broken wire.

"Yup," Buford said. "That could be bad."

"Yeah. All the wiring is brittle, I'm sure its original to the car. We're gonna have to rewire the whole electrical system!" the disgust still present in Steve's voice.

"Then I got more good news for you," Buford said sarcastically. "The alternator is bad."

"Of course it is," was all Steve said. "And here I thought this was going to be a quick and easy restoration."

"Hey, just be glad this car doesn't have a fuel injection system," Buford reminded him. "That would make this a whole lot worse, what with the onboard computer, and all."

"Good point."

* * *

"I…I don't know."

Candace was a bit shocked.

"You do know that that's the exact same thing Phineas said to you, right?"

"Yeah…how do you know?"

Candace thought quickly. "I talked to Phineas last night when I saw him crying. He told me the whole story."

Isabella turned her head back to face the ceiling.

"So?" Candace pressed.

"What?"

"So, why didn't you ever ask Phineas out? It's not like you never had the chance. He's never had a girlfriend, and you've never had a boyfriend, you could have asked him out any time you wanted."

Isabella suddenly sat up and faced Candace, a bit of an annoyed look on her face. "Because I did! I've asked him to dances, movies…" She calmed down a bit and laid back down, resting her head in her hands. "But he never seemed to understand. Understand that I wanted to be more than friends. And," she continued, "Had I ever actually gotten him alone, I would have said something to him, but…I have nothing against Ferb, but why do the two of them have to be connected at the hip all the time? And I mean that figuratively, not the time they connected themselves together at the hip, or that time when they became fused into one physical being."

"Well," Candace said, "You may have been really obvious in expressing your feelings over the years, but I noticed a few years ago, that every time Phineas misunderstands you, you just droop down and say 'Oh, okay,' and don't ever take the time to explain to him what you really mean. Why haven't you ever said to him 'That's not what I meant, I want it to just be us?'"

There was a pause that was so long that Candace started to wonder if she should just leave Isabella to her own thoughts, and Perry started to feel dizzy so he lifted his head back upright. And when the silence continued, Perry stood up on his hind legs to stretch his aching neck and back.

Finally, Isabella spoke up. She gave no prior sign that she had something to say, and she definitely gave no indication that she was going to scream.

"ITS BECAUSE I'M SCARED!"

Perry was taken so much by surprise that he lost his balance. The platypus wind-milled his arms, trying to regain his vertical equilibrium, but to no avail. He fell off the second story window awning.

As the ground rushed up to meet him, Perry's parachute miraculously materialized on his back, and he pulled the ripcord. Unfortunately, the drop was too short to allow the parachute enough time to slow him down much. He was still going to hit the ground rather hard. Fortunately, a gentle summer breeze caught the parachute sail and lifted Perry back into the sky. Unfortunately, the gust pulled the parachute into the tree in Isabella's side yard.

As Perry was about to crash into the tree, he remembered the immortal words of Roger Murtaugh from the 1987 movie _Lethal Weapon_: "I'm too old for this sh-" And he crashed face-first into the tree.

Candace was as equally startled as Perry was. She kicked out with her feet, connecting with the lower portion of Isabella's bed. The force of the kick (and the fact that Candace leaned backwards) upset the rolling chair's center of gravity and Candace toppled over, landing in a heap on the floor.

She groaned, slightly dazed, and rubbed her aching head as she stood up from the floor.

"You okay, Candace?" Isabella asked.

"Yeah, yeah, what do you mean you're scared?"

A strange expression crossed Isabella's face, almost as if she was ashamed of herself. She moved to the edge of the bed and draped her legs over the side.

"I'm scared…of this."

"I don't follow," said Candace.

"I'm scared of losing Phineas's friendship. I love him, and I want to be with him forever, but…I'd rather be just friends than not friends at all."

"I know what you mean," Candace said. "I think I feel the same way about Jeremy. Well, I didn't when I was your age, but I do now."

"And now…" Isabella didn't finish the sentence. Her dried out tear ducts found more fluid in reserve somewhere and large droplets of water began streaming down her face again. After a moment, she somehow found the strength to finish her sentence. "Now, Phineas and I aren't friends anymore."

Candace sat down next to Isabella on the bed and pulled her into a hug. After a few moments, Candace pulled away, keeping one arm around Isabella's shoulders.

"I cannot believe that you, or Phineas, would let such a beautiful, perfect friendship end like this," Candace said. "And I promise you, Isabella, I'm here for both of you. I'll help you guys get through this."

Isabella shook her head sadly. "No."

Candace swallowed. "What?"

"No. Candace, as much as I know you want to help, I don't think this can be fixed. Just let it go."

Candace could not believe what she was hearing. Isabella didn't want to be friends with Phineas anymore?

Isabella resumed her previous position on her bed staring up at the ceiling.

"We're going to be seniors in September," she said. "It was gonna be the best year ever following the best summer ever. And to think, an accidental slip of the tongue on the first day of vacation ruined everything."

There was silence. Candace was stunned beyond words.

Suddenly, through the tears, Isabella forced a small laugh and looked at Candace. "You know, I'll bet if we hadn't met Steve, we'd be in your backyard right now, having fun with some crazy contraption. And now…" This time, she sighed and shifted her head back again, staring up at the ceiling.

Something struck a chord in Candace's brain. "Steve?" Isabella showed no reaction. Candace looked out the window for a second deep in thought, nearly catching Perry yanking his parachute canopy down from the Northern Dutch Elm in Isabella's side yard.

She turned back to Isabella and stood. "Okay, Isabella, I'll give you some alone time. If you want to talk, or if you need anything, you have my number."

Isabella nodded without averting her gaze.

Candace quietly shut Isabella's bedroom door behind her, walked down the stairs, gave a quick goodbye to Mrs. Garcia-Shapiro, and let herself out of the house. When the clasp on the front door clicked behind her, Candace looked up at the sky. She continued looking up until she reached the end of the front walk, where she stopped.

"Steve?" she said quietly. "Steve?"

**_"STEEEVE!"_**

* * *

"I feel a disturbance in the Force."

Buford was confused. "What?"

"I don't know. I feel like I'm about to get in monumental trouble for something that isn't really my fault."

Buford cocked an eyebrow. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Again, I don't know," Steve said. "I think we're gonna have to wait for the next story to find out."

"Okay…"

They finished painting the underside of the Riviera with a neat coat of black Rustoleum in silence as the shop's sound system blasted out Bon Jovi. As they cleaned up their drop clothes and brushes and prepared to start rewiring the car, Steve remembered something.

"Say, Buford, you never told me what kind of car you want to restore for yourself. Do you know what you want?"

"As a matter of fact, I do," Buford said with a grin. "It's the perfect car for me. Just the right mix of speed, power, and toughness for someone of my…character."

Steve said nothing, but motioned for him to continue.

"The 1972 El Camino SS."

_**To be Continued in "Night on the Rivera"…**_

_**Which is now up.**_

**Greetings! I would like to introduce myself, but I am not about to give out my name on the internet, so I won't introduce myself. The stories I write, as you will notice, all start with "P&F Industries" and then a number because they are part of a series of interconnecting stories which must be read in order to make any sense. Right now, I plan on there being approximately 9 stories. As those of you who read my first story, "The Mustang," may observe, this story isn't even half the length. There is going to be absolutely no consistency in the lengths of my stories. The way I currently have it planned out, (which is subject to change) story number 5 might be a long one-shot, while story number 6 is probably going to have to be split into two (possibly unequal) parts, but since I haven't written it yet, I don't know.**

**Thank you all for reading my fan fiction. If you would be so kind as to review so I can improve upon future stories (and get a little self-esteem boost from positive comments), I would greatly appreciate it. **

**Until next time: EDD17SP**


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